There is an active policy in many Fish & Game or other official departments, to downplay and ignore reports of dangerous, large predators.
In Northern Wisconsin, people who were training dogs, treed a mountain lion. They reported it to the Department of Natural Resouces.
The DNR official said, there aren't any mountain lions in northern Wisconsin.
The dog trainers went out the next day, treed the mountain lion again, and took video of it.
Then the DNR official had to admit there was at least one mountain lion in northern Wisconsin.
This happened a while back and was about three miles from my house.
https://abc7chicago.com/archive/6080893/
I live in the foothills of known cougar territory in So Cal.
A couple of years ago, we were awakened by the sound of every dog in the neighborhood barking and howling (including our own two). Husband went out and there was a mountain lion “treed” on top of a telephone pole in our backyard. It disappeared after a few minutes.
Next day, husband called it in to the city - which asks us to report mountain lion sightings. My husband was told he did NOT see a mountain lion (husband is from a hunting family) - and that what he most likely saw a house cat. He slammed down the phone and said he’d never call in a sighting again.
I was told by a NH Fish and Game officer that IF they admitted that there was a mountain lion population then they would have to create a budget to monitor them.
They would have to tag them. Count their kits, etc.
Then they would be considered endangered in the state because there would be so few of them. Next thing is there would be people who want to hunt them. They would have to create policies regarding Mountain lions.
So, it is just easier to pretend they do not actually live here. They just occasionally pass through on their way to find a new home.
The one famously killed by a car on the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich, CT several years back was traced back to the Black Hills of SD. They did this by testing the DNA in its scat.
So, by NOT admitting that Mountain Lions live here they are saving you tax money.